Amnesty: UN pull-out puts achievements of Irish troops in Chad at risk

Amnesty International Ireland paid tribute to members of the Irish Defense Forces who served as part of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Chad, known as MINURCAT, as they arrived home this morning. But the organisation warned that a total UN pull-out would put at risk the achievements of the Irish troops over the last three years.

 

Amnesty International Ireland Executive Director Colm O’Gorman said: “We can all be immensely proud of the contribution made by the Irish Defense Forces in Chad. Irish soldiers defended refugee camps. They protected families from attack as they collected water and firewood. They escorted aid workers bringing food and medicine to people who were in desperate need.

 

“But those successes have been put at risk by the failure of the United Nations to ensure that the peacekeeping mission stays and that they have the numbers, resources and authority to protect the camps.

 

“The compromise before the UN Security Council would see the force reduced to 1,900 troops and pass responsibility for protecting refugees to the Chadian Government. But the reality is that 850 Chadian police officers cannot protect half a million people scattered in dozens of camps across an area three times the size of Ireland.

 

“In the last ten days over six thousand people in Ireland have taken action. They have demanded that the French Government, a key player on this at the UN level, ensures the peacekeepers stay and that they have the resources and the authority to protect the camps.

 

“We are urgently seeking a meeting with the French Ambassador to raise the matter with him directly.”